citations omit-tedXquoting McClellan v. Health Maintenance Organization or Pennsylvania, 546 Pa. 463, 686 A.2d 801, 806 (1996)
How later courts described this case
- citations omit-tedXquoting McClellan v. Health Maintenance Organization or Pennsylvania, 546 Pa. 463, 686 A.2d 801, 806 (1996)
- under the statutory construction doctrine of inclusio unius est exclusio alterius, the inclusion of specific items in a statute implies the exclusion of other matters not so included
- “Because the legislature is presumed to have intended to avoid mere surplusage, every word, sentence, and provision of a statute must be given effect.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
NIGRO, Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the majority that Appellees’ attempted taxation of Appellants’ oil and gas interests is without statutory authority and therefore join in the majority’s disposition of this matter. However, I disagree with the majority’s application of ejusdem generis because it renders the phrase “all other real estate” in section 201(a) of the Assessment Law ineffective. Rather, I would simply hold that Appellees lacked the statutory authority to tax Appellants’ interests because oil and gas are of a fundamentally different character than real estate.
Justice SAYLOR joins the concurring opinion.